Regional Digest

A baseball manager used to stay above criticism and second-guessing if he won. Nowadays, you have to win a certain way because, you know, it's all about the numbers and results are "random." Get it?

Well, Ned Yost does it his way — bunting and running — and he keeps winning because he has his team playing loose and confident, oblivious to pressure. The Royals went up 2-0 in the ALCS, beating the Orioles again in Baltimore. Two more and Kansas City will be in the World Series. ... The Cardinals added catcher A.J. Pierzynski to their roster for the NLCS, which makes it easy for Red Sox fans to pick a side.

Tevin Mack, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Columbia, S.C., was on the UConn campus for an official visit this weekend. He's a four-star recruit, by ESPN rankings, and appears to be the versatile type that fits the Huskies' mold. … Looks like UConn athletics is hitting a fundraising jackpot. The Courant is reporting that former soccer player Tony Rizza is donating $8 million for a new soccer stadium, and a naming rights agreement for the new basketball facility is coming later in the week. … Rough day two for the UConn hockey team at Penn State. The Nittany Lions beat the Huskies, 7-1. Ouch.

Yale's high-powered offense met its match. Dartmouth crashed the yearlong 100th anniversary at Yale Bowl with a 38-31 victory. … Florida State figures to stay atop the football rankings after beating Syracuse, 38-20. … Jameis Winston played for FSU; Georgia had to play without suspended star runner Todd Gurley, but the Bulldogs clobbered Missouri anyway, 34-0. … Random college football observation: There are some butt-ugly uniforms out there. Wow.

Hartford hosted some soccer history with Landon Donovan's last game with the national team. On Saturday, Poland pulled off a historic victory in European soccer, beating Germany for the first time. Germany, the World Cup champion, had won 18 in a row vs. Poland before losing 2-0 in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

Giants vs. Eagles. It means something. Lots of trash talk during the week. The Eagles posted a cartoon-ish video mocking Eli Manning on Twitter. Trash talk has come a long way since Joe Namath issued his poolside guarantee, but this is still old school. Can. Not. Wait. … On Oct. 12, 1923, Giants outfielder Casey Stengel hit an inside-the-park homer to beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series. Stengel lost a shoe along the way, and the Giants lost the Series.